Living a Lasting Hope1 Peter 1.1-12

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Why did Peter write this letter?

I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying

that this is the true grace of God. 1 Peter 5.12

Who & Where?

•Peter, Silas, & John Mark (associates of Paul)•Babylon is code language for Rome

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ

He was a native of Bethsaida (John 1:44), the son of Jonah (Matt 16:17).

As a native of "Galilee of the Gentiles" he was able to converse in Greek, while his native Hebrew and Aramaic was marked with provincialisms of pronunciation and diction (26:73).

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ

He and his brother Andrew followed the hardy occupation of fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, being partners with Zebedee's sons, James and John (Luke 5:7).

He was a married man (Mark 1:30;1 Cor. 9:5) and at the time of Christ's Galilean ministry lived in Capernaum (Mark 1:21, 29).

His home could have been the center of Jesus’ Capernaum ministry (Mk.1.16-33) and the house through whose roof the paralytic was lowered (Mk.2.1ff).

To Whom?Strangers in the world, scattered

What God has done. v.2

• chosen according to the foreknowledge of God• through the sanctifying work of the

Spirit

Why God has done this? v.2

• to be obedient to Jesus Christ

Escapism

Living hope vv.3-5 Lasting hope vv.6-9 Legacy of hope vv.10-12

Living hope vv. 3-5

“I that hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only

cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.” ― Robert

Fulghum

Lasting hope vv. 6-9

“Hope is the ‘inseparable companion’ of faith. faith believes God to be true, hope awaits the time when this truth shall be manifested; faith believes that he is our Father, hope anticipates that he will ever show himself to be a Father toward us; faith believes that eternal life has been given to us, hope anticipates that it will sometime be revealed”

Jurgen Moltmann

Fatalism Entitlement

Christian Hope

“All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.” Hebrews 11.13

Hope means change

For humankind, hope means something is going to change.For God, hope means we are going to change.

“The very least you can do in your life is figure out what you hope for. And the

most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but

live right in it, under its roof.” ― Barbara Kingsolver

Legacy of hope vv.10-12

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

1 Peter 3.15

Evaluating the Quality of your

Hope

Will it withstand hardship?

Will circumstances alter your hope?

Will your hope outlive you?

“The things you do for yourself are gone when you are gone, but the things you

do for others remain as your legacy.”

If what you are hoping for is stealing your joy and peace today, then something needs to be adjusted.Did you find you are never really living today because what you’ve been hoping for is unrealized? God wants to make an adjustment.

Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. We take hold of the hope set before us. We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.

Hebrews 6.17& 19